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Welcome to Life Images by Jill

Welcome to Life Images by Jill.........Stepping into the light and bringing together the images and stories of our world.Through my blog I am seeking to preserve images and memories of the beautiful world in which we live and the people in it. I am a Freelance Journalist and Photographer based in Bunbury, Western Australia. My published work specialises in Western Australian travel articles and stories about inspiring everyday people. My passion is photography, writing, travel, wildflower and food photography. I hope you enjoy scrolling through my blog. To visit other pages, please click on the tabs above, or go to my Blog Archive on the side bar. Please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of any of my posts. I value your messages and look forward to hearing from you.If you like my work, and would like to buy a print, or commission me for some work, please go to my "contact me" tab. Thank you for visiting my blog and helping me "step into the light".

Welcome!

PLEASE CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO GO TO MY RED BUBBLE STORE.

Sunday, 29 December 2013

The last couple of days I have been sorting through the "flotsam and jetsam" of my life in boxes, cupboards, filing cabinets and shelves in my study. While looking through all these pieces I have been reliving events, cherishing memories, and discarding what I don't need to hang onto any longer. It has been a cleansing experience, and I haven't finished yet!

And so we arrive at the last few days of 2013 - and writing this blog post has been a good opportunity to look back over the year that has past and look forward with anticipation to the year ahead and its new opportunities, new horizons, new places to explore and the spark of new or renewed passions.

Whereas 2012 seemed to be focused around family - with a marriage, a funeral, elderly members moving into a new phase in their lives and the blessed welcome to a new addition to our family; in 2013 there were of course family events, joys and concerns, and life to get on with, but also new ventures and travel within our State, interstate and overseas.

Please click on "read more" to keeping reading and seeing more pics from 2013

Sunday, 22 December 2013

While the far northern hemisphere enjoys a white Christmas we here in Australia swelter in the heat. But true to our European backgrounds we still bake the traditional goodies for Christmas - well some of us do anyway! I set last Monday aside for my Christmas baking. It really wasn't the weather for it (in the high 30sC), but Monday is my day off work, so it had to be done, heat or no heat. So I turned on the aircon and the overhead fan, put some cds in the player, and got to work.

First off a new recipe for pear tarts which I saw in a Christmas magazine and wanted to try out. It is a fairly simple and easy recipe made with a base of bought puff pastry. While not technically for "Christmas cooking" we were going to our street "Christmas party" so I thought these would be something a bit different.

First you need pears - I used a pear variety which has a golden brown skin. Please click on "read more" to keep reading and see more Christmas baking!....

Sunday, 15 December 2013

Christmas is just over a week away and I have finally put up my tree, reconstructed and hung my door wreath, sent my Christmas cards, and wrapped some presents. Tomorrow I have given over to Christmas cooking. I will bring you photos when I'm done! My sister makes the most amazing greeting cards - each one personally made for Christmas, birthdays, mother's day, father's day, etc. They are works of art and I have kept every one and am going to put them all together in an album. Me? I take photos - so my greeting cards are often made from my images from our travels. For Christmas I have had - candles from Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris -

Monday, 9 December 2013

Welcome
back for Part 6 of our trip through South Australia. If you missed the first five parts, please scroll down to the bottom of this post to go to the
links. Here is the link to the quick overview - On
the road through South Australia.

Today
we will continue north on the Stuart Highway to Marla where we turn south east
on the Oodnadatta Track which will take us 638 kilometres along a dirt road to
Marree.

The Oodnadatta Track in South Australia can be
described as hot, dry, dusty, bone shaking, and when we travelled recently,
fly-ridden. However it is also one of Australia's great outback treks which has plenty to explore, fascinating and historical, and which is easily
achievable over 3 or 4 days (4WD highly recommended). The track follows the Old
Ghan railway line and along the way you can explore old railway bridges and
stone ruins of the old railway sidings, learn it's history, and even see hot
water bubbling up from the Artesian Basin and take a flight over spectacular
Lake Eyre. You can bush camp, or stay at caravan parks at Coward Springs,
Oodnadatta, and William Creek (make sure you have a drink in the pub and meet
the locals - all 4 or 5 of them!).

But be prepared - this is remote outback travel - so please take all the necessary precautions including carrying drinking water, food, fuel and good quality tyres, 4WD highly recommended, and drive to the road conditions which can vary from good to badly corrugated, and watch out for potholes and washaways.

If you remember from Part 5 we travelled from the south up through Coober Pedy. Our final stop on the Stuart Highway was the Marla Roadhouse. A last chance to top up with fuel and supplies and make telephone calls (unfortunately no internet connection) before heading out along Oodnadatta Track. This little oasis, 160kms south of Northern Territory border, is a nice patch of green in the desert.We had lunch under the shade of the trees at Marla before turning east onto the Oodnadatta Track.

The history of the Oodnadatta Track goes back to the early1840s when central Australia was unexplored by Europeans and commonly thought to contain a massive inland sea. But really its history goes back thousands of years before following a major Aboriginal trade route and steeped in Aboriginal history and dreamtime stories.

We were finally here - on the Oodnadatta Track!

Please click on "read more" to keeping reading and seeing more pics from the Oodnadatta Track.

Tuesday, 3 December 2013

Life has been frantic the last couple of weeks, so this week I am trying to pace life a little better. I am sharing a little piece of creative writing with you that I wrote a few months ago for my writing group, South Side Quills.

Bilbarin is a tiny wheatbelt siding town, where my mother spent her early years. All that remains is the town hall, but I am continually drawn to Bilbarin and the life and history of my mother and my grandmother. Perhaps today I am being drawn more to Bilbarin because my father will be there today when he visits the last resting place of my mother. Or perhaps it is because it is nearly Christmas and this will be our second Christmas without my mother at our table.

Bilbarin Morning

A wild wind whips across the yard scattering
leaves in devilish dance, battering a loose piece of tin on the roof and whistling through a crack
in the sapling walls of the hut.

Tendrils
of golden morning light seep thinly through the trailing branches of the
peppermint trees. It bursts through the
door as we tumble out onto the verandah in a blur of coats and scarves. Icy
water baubles clinging in wait for us on the eaves release themselves as we
bound down the steps. The ground crunches nosily under our boots like a
military tattoo. The gate clatters
behind us.

Daisy stamps impatiently in her stall. Her hot
breath swirls around her like a smoky wreath. She thrusts her head into the stream
of grain spilling into the feed bin.

Dry wheat stalks whip against our legs as we
run across the stubble paddock. Through
the stringy gimlet trees, jumping the gurgling water in the gully, pushing our
way through the scrub. A kangaroo bounds
away into the mist. Red gum flowers are bursting from their cups and we stop to
pick a spray for Miss.

The clanging bell calls out to us across the
dusty school yard. The welcoming warmth of the fire in the stove as we slide
into our desks and pull out our books.

Miss smiles at us, absorbing the perfume of
the bush as she arranges the flowers in a jar on the window sill.

...................................................

and a couple of images from Bilbarin. A beautiful old gum tree near where my mother once lived, and the old railway siding.You might enjoy this post from last year when I took you there for a visit - From beach to wheatbelt

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this little story. I look forward to hearing from you. Have a wonderful week.

I
am
linking up to Mosaic Monday, Travel Photos Monday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday Around the
World,
Travel Photo Thursday, What's It
Wednesday, and Oh the Places I've Been. Please click on
the
links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual
touring at its best!

About Me

I completed a Higher Diploma of Advanced Freelance Journalism with the Australian College of Journalism and started writing freelance in 2002. I have had articles published in Australian Coast & Country, Go Camping Australia, On The Road, Flourish, Perth Vita, Australian Vital, Australian Photography, Western Angler, Homes and Living, Great Walks magazine, RRR Network News (for rural, remote and regional women in Western Australia), South Culture magazine and Bunbury's South Western Times newspaper. I completed the WA Holiday Specialist Training Programme run by Tourism Western Australia and attended several Summer School photography courses at University of Western Australia Extension, and a Bunbury TAFE Digital Photography course. I have completed several on line photography courses, and contribute to Digital Photography School, Flickr, and Getty Images.
I am a member of the Photography Group of Bunbury, The WA Photographic Federation, South Side Quills and the Fellowship of Australian Writers WA.
I enjoy photographing our magnificent country and seek to continually improve. I hope you enjoy my writing and photography.

Links to my web pages

Tour Western Australia - Come for a drive with me!

Come with me on a 52 week tour around Western Australia. Click on the photo to go to my page Tour Western Australia and follow me over 52 weeks as I take you on a tour around our magnificent state of Western Australia in words and pictures.

Photographing wildflowers

The Blue Leschenaultia is just one Western Australia's thousands of amazing wildflowers. Spring is my favourite time but walking through the bush at any time of year you will find something flowering. If you would like to see more of my wildflower images, please click on this photo to take you to my Flickr site. If you see any images that you wish to purchase, please contact me

My Flickr Photo Page

Getty Images

I am now a contributor to Getty Images, through an invitation through Flickr. Click on the image to go to the linlk.

FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY

To keep up with my latest food images please click on this image to go to my Flickr food page. If you see something you like, or would like me to do some food photography for you be it for your website, restaurant, magazine or cook book, please contact me.

Ferguson Valley Plated

In 2015 Jill was one of the food photographers for Ferguson Valley Plated, launched in October 2015, through a collaboration with Kim Wesley from Peppermint Lane Lodge.

The Runaway Quill

The Runaway Quill, which was launched in August 2016, is an anthology of writing from Bunbury's South Side Quills writers group, of which Jill is a member. Copies are $20. Please let me know if you would like to purchase one.

Against the Light 2015

Jill won the Against the Light 2015 photographic competition conducted by the WA Photographic Federation in September 2015 with this image seen on the cover of the book.

Photography Group of Bunbury Awards

2015 - 3rd place Photographer of the Year, Highly Commended Colour Image of the Year

Donnybrook-Balingup Shire 2016 calendar

Go Camping and 4WD Adventures Australia

My cover image from the Holland Track on the cover of Go Camping and 4WD Adventures Australia August-September 2013 edition. Please click on the image to go to my blog post about the Holland Track.

Go Camping Australia magazine

My cover image from the Great Central Road , Western Australia on the cover of Go Camping Australia magazine Feb-March 2013. Please clilck on the image to go to the Go Camping website.

Exploring WA's WIldflower Country

Jill's images are displayed on the front and back covers and inside. Edition 7, 2015.

Australian Coast &Country magazine

My cover image of the Thrombolites at Lake Clifton, Mandurah, West Australia. Australian Coast and Country magazine, Edition 1-2008

Communal Global

I am very excited to be invited to join the Communal Global community. Please click on the link below to see images from around the world from other contributors.

Communal Global

Life's Journey

It is not what life does to you that is important, but what you do with what life does to you. - Chinese saying.

Frangipani

This Frangipani in my garden has just started to flower after many years. Sometimes it can take years to create something beautiful. The journey can be as beautiful as the end result.

The sunshine in my life

My family and friends are the most precious part of my life. Like the sunflower the tiny pieces of our lives fit together to complete the whole. I thank them for their love, encouragement and support and for being the special people they are. This photo was taken in Monet's Garden at Giverney in France.

Footprints

You can always find something to photograph, like this trail we found on the beach in the Cape Range National Park. It's a snapshot of a life, just as special as our own.

Sturt Desert Pea

Sturt Desert Pea near Marble Bar in the Pibara.

Everlastings

White Wells, mid-west Western Australia

Eucalypt

Simplicity in the Dryandra Woodland, Western Austraia

Wreath Leschenaultia

This unique wildflower only grows in a small area of Western Australia. We saw this one along Sanderson Road in the Mid West.

Crimson Spider Orchid

Blue Lady Orchid

Donkey Orchid

We have a patch of bush near our home, where I search for wild orchids, like this donkey orchid.

Native Cornflower

Jibberding Nature Reserve, Western Australia

Leopard Orchid

Leopard Orchid seen along the old Ellensbrook Road near the historical Ellensbrook Homestead near Margaret River.

Boronia

Haddleton Nature Reserve, Western Australia

Wattle

The wattle must surely be the most widespread family of Australian Wildflowers, with 100's of varieties. This one was seen at Canna Dam in WA's midwest.

Southern Native Rose

Tuart Walk near Bunbury.

Goodenia

Great Northern Highway, Western Australia

Mulla Mulla

There are many varieties of Mulla Mulla. This delicate variety we found at the abandoned Ragged Hill Minesite, on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert in the Pilbara

Silver Cassia

A burst of yellow on the Morawa to Yalgoo Road in the Mid West.

Thank you....

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of my world. Our connections enrich our lives through reaching out , seeing and understanding, learning from each other, having compassion, rejoycing, giving thanks, and experiencing the beautiful world in which we live and the people we meet along our journey. Thank you for joining me along my path.

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Digital Photography School

If you want to learn more about digital photography, work through tutorials, enter competitions, post your photos, have your photos critiqued, talk to other photographers, ask questions and get answers on just about anything about photography - here is the place for you - Digital Photography School. I have joined recently, it's free, and a great site. Click on the photo to enter or go to my website links.

Forever in our hearts

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For the love of flowers

I love photographing flowers - both in the wild and in my garden - so spring is my favourite time of year and the chance to go in search of wildflowers. Walking through the bush at any time of year you will find something flowering. If you would like to see some more of my flower photos please click on this photo to go to my Picasa site or scroll up the page to my Flickr page.

The Rose

The rose is the enduring symbol of love and friendship. It is also like the circle of life. It starts as a tiny bud that gradually unfolds, grows, changes, evolves, and then blooms to display its full potential and radiance. Just like our lives - as we grow and are nurtured, we gently unfold and reach the potential of our full bloom. Each step is precious and beautiful. As we look at the rose we can see on the outside that petals that have already evolved but in the centre is the life that is still to come to us if we open up our hearts and minds. When I photograph the rose I seek to capture its perfection and the inner beauty and promise of what is to come. If you would like to see some more of my rose photos click on the photo to go to my Picasa site.

Forever in my heart

My darling Dad passed away peacefully on 6 September 2014 after several weeks in hospital. It hurt me to watch him fade. I cried and cried, but I know he is back where he wanted to be - in those fields and paddocks with the love of his life, his wife, my mother. Forever united in love. You will be forever in my heart darling Dad. 26-8-1929 - 6-9-2014.

A tribute

On 26 February 2008, my daughter-in-law's mother died suddenly and unexpectedly from acute promyelocytic leukaemia. There is now a huge gap in the lives of her family. I know she is watching over them.